CANNABIS IN MASSACHUSETTS -- Don't rush into a job just yet

Thursday

As the recreational cannabis industry gears up, it’s easy to see why people throughout the state might be excited at the prospect of working in the industry.

For these job-seekers, there is no shortage of opportunities. According to employment site ZipRecruiter.com, marijuana job postings across the country increased 693 percent from the last quarter of 2016 to last quarter 2017.

It’s exciting, I get it. I vividly remember the curious intoxication which flooded my veins the moment I walked inside a commercial-sized cannabis grow facility. But committing to a position in an industry still under a cloud of stigma may affect your future more than many cannabis industry employers let on.

I’d like to share some insight and recent data to take into consideration before diving into the brave new world that is the cannabis industry.

Lately, I feel like I’ve been running into a growing number of people I know who either have a relative who “just started” in the cannabis industry or they, themselves, have an upcoming interview. There’s a reason for the sudden phenomenon -- jobs keep opening up.

Headset Cannabis Intelligence, a Seattle-based data and analytics service provider for the cannabis industry, examined employee retention data collected over a 12-month period from Washington and Colorado.

The study revealed a profound rate of employee turnover rates, especially in dispensary workers, commonly known as “budtenders” – a term that makes me cringe. Headset claims that “58 percent of them didn’t make it two months, and 40 percent didn’t even last one month. Only 14 percent of all employees who did leave were at their position for longer than three months.”

Headset hasn’t concluded specific reasons why these positions are essentially a “revolving door,” but it alludes to behaviors which run parallel to those I personally witnessed while assisting in the training of “budtenders” in anticipation of a grand opening.

I remember seeing a high level of anxiety in the eyes of the employees with no experience whatsoever with cannabis, which is common, because even though most in that particular community are quite knowledgeable on the plant, there are just as many lacking even the most basic information. So, when these individuals are faced with a clientele full of questions regarding different strains and their effects, they simply panic and bail.

So, if you’re going to work in this field, I recommend learning everything you can about the product you will be discussing with customers eager for information on what they are ingesting and the nuances of its effects.

There’s another very important factor to consider, in my opinion, the most influential down the road, especially for younger people looking to get a start in the industry. If your passion for working with cannabis isn’t one which you’d potentially sacrifice another profession over, it may be best to hold off -- as it may have a dramatic effect on future employment.

Public acceptance of cannabis may be growing exponentially, but it’s unlikely we’ll see the same sentiment make its way in to human resource departments outside of the cannabis industry. Whether you use cannabis doesn’t matter, its mere presence on a resume can be enough to raise concern that you could be a liability to the company -- an instant deterrent of your candidacy.

So, what do you do? Should you exclude your work experience in the cannabis industry in your employment history?

I recently spoke with a job recruiter I’ve known for many years and asked that very question. Her advice was pretty cut and dry – if there are no transferable skills acquired while working with cannabis, it’s probably just best to leave it off and avoid the potential of it negatively and unfairly impacting your chances of pursuing the career of your dreams. I also posted this question on social media, and the majority of former cannabis employees shared the same opinion.

Essentially, putting cannabis work on a resume submitted to, for instance, a financial firm, is like showing up to an interview with a face tattoo -- you may be discriminated against.

One last aspect to consider if changing career paths are the average wages paid to cannabis industry employees. The most-prominent positions available are budtenders, cultivation workers and trimmers. Don’t expect to be rolling in money, as budtenders and cultivators tend to start around the same pay – between $15 and $16 per hour. As for trimmers, a job which I consider to be the most tedious and damaging on your body, they tend to earn the lowest at about $13 per hour.

Sure, the cannabis industry is pulling in billions, and someone is getting rich -- the large multistate corporations and few else. So, before allowing grandiose visions of a utopian workplace where the sky is the only limit to success and advancement to fill your imagination, slow down for a minute and consider the big picture rather than act on your impulse.

-- Gregg Padula is an employee of GateHouse Media New England. He has experience in several areas of the cannabis industry, and now serves as an advocate for both patients' and workers’ rights. He can be reached at gpadula@wickedlocal.com.

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